Breakdown of chinguege mesijireul bonaesseoyo.
친구chingu
friend
~를~reul
object particle
~에게~ege
dative particle
보내다bonaeda
to send
Questions & Answers about chinguege mesijireul bonaesseoyo.
What does the particle -에게 do here? Can I use -한테 instead?
-에게 marks the recipient/indirect object (to someone). -한테 is the more casual/spoken equivalent; both are fine with people or animals. For honored recipients, use -께.
- Examples:
- 친구에게 메시지를 보냈어요.
- 친구한테 메시지 보냈어요. (more casual)
- 선생님께 메시지를 보냈습니다. (honorific/formal)
Why is there no subject? Who sent the message?
Korean often drops subjects when they’re clear from context. In most everyday contexts, the omitted subject is “I.”
- To make it explicit, you can say: 제가 친구에게 메시지를 보냈어요. (I sent a message to my friend.)
- Topic style: 저는 친구에게 메시지를 보냈어요. (As for me, I sent a message to my friend.)
Why does 메시지를 take 를?
를/을 marks the direct object. 메시지 is the thing being sent (direct object), so it takes the object marker. Use 를 after a vowel-ending noun and 을 after a consonant-ending noun.
- 메시지를 보냈어요.
- 편지를 보냈어요.
- 사진을 보냈어요.
Can I change the word order?